Tool joint



May 8, 1951 R. v. BROWNING 2,552,147

TOOL JOINT Filed July l2, 1948 @l f 4i- IN V EN TOR.

Zig@ H owzifgg Zito/"llega Patented May 8, 14951 ,TOOL `OINTv Roe Browning, fBozeman, Mont., assignor fof. ten per cent tto 'Vera E. Browning, twenty per cent y.toi-Junior Tschache, and twenty per .-centtofOttleyfR.Y Tschache, all of Bozeman,

Mont. l i

Application Jlyf1'2, 1948,@Serial No; 38,220

y'4 Claims.

1 Y The present invention relates :to improvements in a tool joint.

It is the principalpurposepf this invention to provide anovel universal :joint for tools,:such

as wrenches, in which'the ltwofends offthe tool may be misaligned ywithin limited .angulargpositions with respecttoleachfother. The universal joint comprises a ball and socketwhicl'r may be readily separated. My invention contemplates `a tool joint of thischaracter wherein a handle-or shaftv of altoolis provided with-;a ball'tipr adapted to be received inthe socketofga work performing member, the socket having a transverseqpin which is received :in afslot infthe ballan'd lfthe ball :having meansfextendingginto Vsaid slot :and I engaging the pin therein to hold fthe partsaas sembled. V'The :socket is provided with 1Ta *handle receiving slot so fthatrwhen the hand-levis; atyright angles tothe `Work vperforming member, .ther socket and handle are interlockedrfor Vturningtthe work performing .l member without strain on the connecting pin.

More specically itlisarpurposezof my invention to vprovide a novel .ball and socket ,joint for wrenches wherein the socket is .connected to the ball by a pin secured inthe socket and releasably held in a slot in the-ball.

'The :nature and advantages of my invention will appear .more fully .fromflthe following idescription and the accompanying drawingswheretion except insofar is it is limited by the claims. L

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a longitudinaL sectional view through a tool joint embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a View like Figure l but with the ball element of the joint shown in full and turned at right angles to the work performing member;

Figure 3 is a sectional view similar to Figure 1, showing a modified form of the invention; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken at right angles to Figure l, showing a modied construction.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to Figures l and 2, my invention is shown as embodied in a tool having a shaft or handle portion 5 provided with a ball tip 6. The handle 5 is connected to a work performing member 'l which, as shown, comprises a socket wrench. The member 'I has a nut engaging socket 9 and a ball receiving socket 9. It will be understood -2 .of courseby those skilled in 'thefart that fthe socket/portion is serrated as showny by theserrations I l) so that it will .non-rotatably receive a nut or bolt head.

The ball 6 has avcentral-slot II which is-adapt ed to receive a securing,` pin I2; The securingpin vI2 is mounted in the walls of the socket .9. The pin I2 serves as a pivot about which the ball may turn so that the handle 5 .mayvbevextendedat an angle rto the member] and fstill used to -rotate the member 'I in veithendirection. Y The axis of the pin I2 passes through .thecenter ofthe ball 3 when the parts are inassembledrelation.

Except for its engagement with V-pin I-2, the ball.6-. 4is..removable. fromthe socket .92 since the upper-end of the socket 9. is .not turned over to secure the ball in place. The ball is removably held in the socket 9 by a spring pressedmember I3 which is mounted Vin a .recess I4.in the ball B. A spring I.5 in the bottom of the recess, urges the member I3 to the right as shown in Figure l. The member I3 is held in. the .ball bya screw plug I6. The member I 3 is provided with across slot I1 to receive the pin I2. Theslot I I extends inward and endwise of the member I3 and toward the spring end thereof so as to provide a pin holding lip I8 ythat normally fits over the pin I2 and releasably secures the pin within the slot I I o-f the ball 6.

The member I3 is cylindrical -in cross section so that it may rotate in the ball 6 toaccommo- .date itself to the universal action of the tool joint. It is believed to be evident that when a socket wrench of a different size is to be used, the ball can be pulled out of the socket 9 and snapped into the socket 9 of another socket Wrench. Thus one handle with its ball tipmay be used with a series of socket wrenches of different sizes, all of which are provided with sockets 9 and pins I2.

My tool joint lends itself readily to use under conditions where it is necessary to apply a relatively great leverage to the member 1. It will be noted that the socket 9 has a notch I9 cut in the side wall thereof at right angles to the axis of the pin I2. The ball can turn on the pin I2 until the handle 5 seats in the notch I9 as shown in Figure 2. In this position, the handle 5 may be used to turn the member 1 and no particular strain will be exerted on the pin I2 or the latch member I3. The combination of the ball 6, the socket 9, the releasable pin and latch connection I 2-I3 and the notch I9 gives me the full advantage of a powerful wrench for initially loosening or finally tightening a nut or screw bolt with a universal joint for convenience and ready l separability of the handle and ball from the socket for fitting the tool to dierent size nuts or bolt heads.

In Figure 3 of the drawings, the parts are all identical with those shown in Figures 1 and 2 except that a modied latch member I3 is used to hold the pin l2 in the slot Il. The member I3 is a short stubby shaft pressed against the pin I2 by a spring l5'. A screw plug I6 is threaded into the ball 6' to hold the spring l5 and the member I 3 in place.

Figure 4 of the drawings illustrates a further modication of the tool joint in which the pin I2" is permanently secured in the slot Il of the ball 6". This permanent attachment is made by using a small rivet or pin 20 which extends through the ball 6 and the pin I2". I have shown the socket member 9" as provided with a squared shank 2i which is adapted to fit into the squared socket of a work engaging member (not shown) such as the ordinary socket wrenches which are now found on the market. The shank 2| may have a spring pressed detent 22 as is common in devices of this character. The showing in Figure 4 illustrates how the pin l2 is mounted in the socket 9". It also illustrates the contour of the notch I9". The mounting of the pin in the socket illustrated in Figure 4, is identical with that used in Figures 1, 2 and 3. Likewise the notch contour is identical in all three forms of the tool joint, and the slot Il in the ball is identical in all three forms of the joint.

The nature and advantages of my invention are believed to be clear from the foregoing description. Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A device of the character described comprising a handle member, a work performing member and means connecting them comprising, a bail head on one member, the other member having a socket into which the ball extends, a pivot pin for the ball mounted in and extending across the socket, the ball having a pin receiving Slot extending to and beyond its center from the surface thereof remote from the member mounting the ball, a latch pin in the ball having a latch face transversely grooved to receive the pivot pin and hold it in the slot, and a resilient means in the ball pressing said face of the latch pin toward the pivot pin.

2. A device of the character described comprising a handle member, a work performing member and means connecting them comprising, a ball head on one member, the other member having a socket into which the ball extends, and having a notch in the wall of the socket for receiving the rst member when the members are at right angles to each other, a pivot pin for the ball mounted in and extending across the socket, the ball having a pin receiving slot extending to and beyond its center from the surface thereof remote from the member mounting the ball, so that the pivot pin when seated in said slot has its axis passing through the center of the ball, and a securing pin in said ball perpendicular to the plane of the slot holding the pivot pin in place, said securing pin being axially movable in the ball and having a lip between the pivot pin and the open side of the slot.

3. In a tool joint of the character described, a Work engaging member, a handle member and means on said members operable in certain positions to provide a universal connection between the members and operable when the members approacha right angle to each other to interlock the members for turning the work engaging member about its axis, said means comprising a socket in one member having a transverse pin secured therein and having a notch in the wall thereof intermediate the ends of the pin and a head on the other member slotted to receive the pin and having a latch member releasably holding the pin therein.

4. In a tool joint, a ball member and a socket member, a handle mounting pin in the said socket member, a pin engaging member movably mounted in the said ball portion and having a pin retaining recess therein, and a spring member urging the said pin engaging member into contact with the said pin.

ROE V. BROWNING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 105,696 Keller July 26, 1870 1,037,427 Brush Sept. 3, 1912 1,209,658 Baltzley Dec. 26, 1916 2,460,216 Dalton Jan. 25, 1949 

